Stargazers will be out to view the annual Leonid shower this weekend, which could see a trail of meteors traced across the sky.

The event is caused by the earth moving through particles left by a passing comet and according to Space.com, the meteor shower peaks overnight on Saturday November 17 and into the early hours of Sunday.

During the shower the earth passes through the dust left behind from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Like all comets, this comet leaves behind bits of dust and debris which lie around in space until something comes along, like the Earth and pulls the debris in with it’s gravity.

When the debris is pulled in, it enters the Earth’s atmosphere and then burns up as it hurtles towards the ground.

The constellation of Leo, the direction the meteor shower comes from

If you trace the path of the meteors back, they seem to radiate from the constellation Leo and this is why they are called the Leonids.

The Leonid meteor shower is known for some very big meteor storms, but this is not expected this year.

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The Moon will not cause a problem this year and will leave the skies darker so that they will be easier to see. You can expect between 10 – 15 meteors per hour.

When is the Leonid Meteor Shower?

The Leonid Meteor shower will peak in the early hours of Sunday, November 18.

For your best chance of seeing a shooting star, look to the skies anytime from midnight.

Here are tips to view the meteor shower:

The best time to look for the meteors is after midnight.

The best idea is to lie down on a deck chair or sun lounger in the garden and look up. This way you get a better view of the sky and you are not straining looking up.

The meteors are not visible where they radiate from, they usually only appear about 30 degrees from that point and can appear in any portion of the sky. If you follow the line of the meteor back towards where it came from, you will also see Jupiter below Leo, in the East if you have a good view of the eastern horizon.

EarthSky has put together a list of the best places to watch the Leonid Meteor Shower here.